Many happy returns to the actress Diane Langton who celebrates her 70th birthday today. Diane has a long career on stage and screen, is well known to Carry On fans for her performance as Alice Easy in the less than successful Carry On England, released in 1976.
As the rather busty young Private, Langton was pretty much cast in the Barbara Windsor role in this film and despite the overall film being a complete stinker, she's good in the part. England wasn't Diane's only brush with Carry On though. Way back in 1959 she appeared in a non-speaking role as one of the children in Carry On Teacher. Along with the likes of David Barry, Jeremy Bulloch and Francesca Annis, Diane can be spotted in several crowd scenes. Fast forward to 1975 and Langton joined many familiar faces in the ATV Carry On Laughing television series. Diane appeared in three episodes, which must have led to her being cast in England the following year.
Away from the Carry Ons, Diane has appeared in films like Ray Cooney's Don't Just Lie There, Say Something with Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims and Joanna Lumley and Confessions of a Pop Performer, co-starring with fellow England actress Linda Regan. Diane has also had many stage successes in her career, appearing in the likes of Billy Elliot and Sondheim's A Little Night Music.
On television, Diane can currently be seen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks - she has been part of the cast of this show for nearly a decade. Other roles on the small screen have included the 1970s reboot of The Rag Trade, Only Fools and Horses, Doctors, Heartbeat and EastEnders.
Whatever Diane is up to today, I hope she has a wonderful birthday.
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The festive season is peak time viewing for many British soap operas. Love them or loathe them, they are still some of the most popular programmes on television these days. I have a passion for Coronation Street but one must recognise that other soaps do exist!
There are plenty of Carry On connections with the main soaps. Less so these days sadly, as Carry On actors become increasingly thin on the ground, but here are some of the most famous links.
Let's start off with Corrie. Although there aren't any connections left these days, there was a period in the 1990s when the Manchester drama boasted three Carry On actors in the regular cast. Amanda Barrie spent well over a decade as cafe owner Alma Sedgwick, while Johnny Briggs played her on screen husband Mike Baldwin for thirty years. Sherrie Hewson also appeared, as Maureen Naylor for four years before moving on to other soap roles in both Crossroads and Emmerdale.
Other Carry On actors to pop up in Weatherfield have included: Bernard Cribbins, Kenneth Cope, Dilys Laye, Bill Maynard, Noel Dyson, Angela Douglas, June Whitfield, Brian Oulton, Brian Capron, Rosalind Knight and Bill Kenwright.
Let's head down south now to the BBC drama EastEnders. Again during the 1990s, the Albert Square soap opera featured three Carry On actors in its cast. Of course Carry On blonde bombshell Barbara Windsor played Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell for sixteen years during the 1990s and 2000s. Wendy Richard, who appeared in two Carry On films and a Christmas television special was an original EastEnders cast member, appearing as Pauline Fowler from 1985 until 2006. Dilys Laye, already mentioned as having a role in Corrie, played a recurring role as Maxine Palmer in Walford between 1994 and 1995.
What about Emmerdale? The late actress Shirley Stelfox appeared briefly in Carry On At Your Convenience. She would spend the last fifteen years of her career as Edna Birch. Carry On England star Patrick Mower is still a regular cast member in Emmerdale today, having played Rodney Blackstock since 2000.
Over in Hollyoaks, despite it being a youth-oriented soap opera, it has still got a Carry On actress in its cast. Diane Langton, who played Private Alice Easy in Carry On England has been playing Nana McQueen on and off for several years now. Back in 1996, semi-regular Carry On actress Carol Hawkins appeared in a one off role.
So do you know of any other Carry On connections with the best of British soap operas? If you do, get in touch!
Read more about Corrie's Carry On Connections .
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan
